Thursday, August 20, 2015

TBI Delivers Report on Darrius Stewart Shooting

Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich is now in possession of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's (TBI) 800-page report on the Darrius Stewart investigation. But Weirich said at a press conference on Thursday morning that she had not yet read the report or determined if charges would be filed against Memphis Police officer Connor Schilling.

Stewart was shot on July 17th by Schilling after the car Stewart was a passenger in was pulled over for having a headlight out. Stewart was placed in the back of a squad car after the traffic stop while Schilling checked for warrants. The police account of what happened says that, when Schilling opened the squad car to handcuff Stewart, the man kicked the door and tried to attack the officer. Shortly after the warrant check, police reported that Stewart had been shot and an ambulance was called for. Stewart later died at the Regional Medical Center.

Shortly after the incident, Weirich asked the TBI to investigate, and the results of that nearly month-long investigation were delivered to Weirich this morning.

Weirich said she would begin reading through the report today and will eventually make a determination as to whether or not criminal charges against the officer "are warranted under the state of Tennessee." She would not give a timeline as to when she might be ready to make that decision, but she asked the public for patience during the process.

"At the appropriate time, some, if not all, of the report will be made available to the public," Weirich said.

She said the TBI report contains all manner of witness statements, interviews, an autopsy report, and forensics reports.